Safety Antrel Rolle

Safety Antrel Rolle talks about the team's run defense during Friday's preseason game in Jacksonville.

Q: Is the run defense that bad? Or is the team just missing tackles?A: They had 156 yards rushing. No matter what the reason is behind it, it’s 156 yards rushing, which is unacceptable for our defense. Some of it, we’re definitely going to tackle. We’re not expecting to have that within a week. We will clean that up.

Q: What did you think about how Prince played? He seemed a little shaky on the first series, then he came back and made a big play.A: I think they came at him a little bit. They tried to test him out early, which we already told him that was going to be the case. He has to clean some things up, he’s still fairly new. He’s still new to the system, new to the game. We don’t make any excuses for him. We told him, ‘You’re going to have to be that guy there,’ and he understands that. He came back, and was smarter in the next series with an awesome play, forcing the turnover, and giving our offense a chance to score, which is always a good thing.

Q: I’m sure that’s not going to be anything new. I’m sure the Cowboys on September 5th will probably go with the same approach?A: I really don’t know what their approach is going to be. He has to understand that he’s that guy on the boundary. We’re looking forward to him to go out there, make some great plays for us, and be an outstanding corner.

Q: As you look out there with your group, everyone is a starting Super Bowl player, except for him.A: As an offensive coordinator, that’s probably going to be the angle. He has to understand that, and I’m sure he’s aware of that. You have to continue to grow. You have to turn into a man overnight. There’s no time for babying, and he understands that. He’s going to be fine. I have all the confidence in the world in Prince, and I’m sure he’s going to get the job done.

Q: Does every young corner have to go through that? Get tested?A: Everyone. Not necessarily just a cornerback. You have to be tested, to know where you are, what areas to work on, get a feel for the game, and get a feel for the speed of the game. The game moves extremely fast. It’s still pre-season, so it’s not moving nearly as fast as it’s going to move during the regular season.

Q: You can learn a lot about your team in the first preseason game. What have you learned about your defense? What are you focusing on now?A: I think everyone looks at it differently. My take is that I don’t think you learn too much about your team in the first preseason game. We don’t make full contact until the first preseason game, we don’t do a lot of things until then. We still have to find a feel for each other. We need to understand what areas to focus on, that’s what we tend to do in practice.